That Time a Stranger Insulted My Dog {Giveaway}

This post is sponsored by Wellness CORE Natural Pet Food. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let me set the stage: fall is in the air in Colorado! The temps are dropping, leaves are turning color, and we even saw a bit of snow in the high country this past weekend. It’s prime leaf peeping season and since the color dies so quickly here thanks to the elevation, Will and I try our best to maximize quality time with the yellow-leaved beauties. We didn’t have time last weekend for a full-weekend assault, so instead, we grabbed Tals and headed up to nearby Silverthorne for an easy day hike.

We were returning from our four-mile jaunt, basking in the sunshine and reveling in the golden hillsides. Tals was hot and tired, but doing well. She had on her lovable puppy grin that tells me she is having the BEST DAY EVER. She was visiting with random hikers on the trail, sniffing their pant legs to say hello, when another hiker bent down to give her pets. While scratching on her ears, he looked at me and said, “Pretty fat dog. You hiking her to work off some of those pounds?”

PC: Will Rochfort

Y’all, I was angry. You see, we’ve been working hard on Tally’s fitness. I touched base with y’all back in July on the topic, but Tals has put on some weight. The proper glucosamine and arthritis medication {Rimadyl} has been incredibly helpful, but I was concerned about the effect on her liver and kidneys. Rimadyl is known to be hard on the organs, so I took her in for some blood work last week to make sure it wasn’t affecting her. Luckily, her readings came back “disgustingly normal” so she is good to go! I’m super thankful since the Rimadyl has made an incredibly difference in how she moves. No more creaks and hobbling around after walks; I’m beginning to see the old Tals return!

This is what happens when you try to have a photoshoot: Tiger, my parents’ dog, gets involved!

I’ve also spent a lot of time dialing in her diet. She is still a happy sponsored pup and regularly enjoys her Wellness CORE Natural Pet Food. I’ve actually used a FitBark to figure out how many calories she specifically needs per day, and she gets her Wellness CORE allotments split between breakfast and dinner. The 34% protein keeps her full and–I imagine!–tastes good. She gobbles the meals up crazy fast but always shows her happy face once done eating. The food has been great since she is a finicky eater; she isn’t so finicky anymore!

To top it all off, she gets two walks every single day: one morning and one night. Ever since her blood work came back normal, we’ve also begun incorporating easy hikes and jog-walks back into her routine. Her new food combined with the meds and uptick of exercise has been incredible for her. Will and I both notice a happier and more energetic dog returning. And while she is still chubby, the weight is slowly coming off. She has lost two pounds since late July; it’s not all of the weight, but it’s a start.

So you see, it bothered me when Mr. Rude Hiker comment on her appearance. To me, it was unnecessary, especially since we were already out there hiking….clearly doing something about the problem. I mulled over it for awhile and finally decided to chock it up to a concerned citizen. Regardless of that, I’m happy about her progress and am psyched we found a routine that seems to be working for Tals.

And our new goal? Now that she is down to 70 lbs from 72 lbs, we’re working our way back into the 60s. Will and I are shooting to get her weight in the 65-67 lbs by Christmas!

Tally’s Wellness CORE Natural Pet Food has been a huge part of getting Tals back on track. Not only is the food tasty {or she seems to think so anyway!}, but it’s good for her. It’s grain free with the first ingredient being deboned turkey. But, you don’t have to believe me; want to try it for yourself?

Wellness CORE is offering one reader a care pack to try the doggy products out! Included in the starter set will be some CORE dry food, CORE wet food, and some Air Dried toppers {which Tals LOVES.}

Want to win? Leave a comment below and let me know why your pup needs to try out some new food!

Heather Balogh Rochfort is a freelance writer and author with a focus on outdoor adventure, travel, and fitness. Colorado born and bred, she loves backpacking, trail running, backcountry skiing, and packrafting, especially with her husband, one-year-old daughter, and lovable rescue mutt Tally.

16 Comments

My dog Copper tore his ACL in February and had it surgically repaired, and he’s 8 years old so he could easily start slowing down—but on Saturday he joined me for a 9 mile run! I was such a proud momma 🙂 He’s been eating Science Diet forever, and I think he’s ready for something new to fuel his long runs and playtime at the dog park.

I run up to 25 miles at a time with my husky, Daisy, and I think she needs something with more protein than the Iams smart puppy food that we have been feeding her. She turned a year old in June, so I am keeping her on puppy food until next June, but she seems to wait until the end of the day when she knows she isn’t getting anything yummier before she will eat the Iams. I would love to try out a new food.

You’re much too kind and politically correct. ON the spot, I would have retorted: ‘You’re pretty fat yourself, how the f**k’s the hike going for you?’. If Tals is going on 4mile hikes with you and retains a puppy grin, (He/She?) is in awesome shape and the fat will fly off inevitably with the training and best food. While my Moulouki (rescue) is no longer with me, I would have loved to take her on a 4miler in the mountains.
Please stand up to the A**holes of the world, there are so many, and they’re everywhere! Anger is not good for your blood pressure and mental state, well placed and deserved verbal responses blow off pent up steam. It’s the ‘fight or flight’ response and everyone has it. In our civilized society, the only way to defuse it is to vent verbally.

My Cola is an active, busy and picky dog! He is joyful and runs all the miles with me up to 21 miles this summer and is still ready for more. He would be so excited if he won, especially since we just got a puppy and he is feeling a little jealous.

My doggie, Tristan, is starting to show some signs of aging (did I finally just admit that!?!). He’s getting a little gray around the face and can’t hike nearly as long as he used to (he did my first 14er with me!). That’s what he would love to try some new food!

Luna is a champion snuggle dog, rope toy enthusiast, expert tennis ball chaser and new big sister. She’s a pit bull/Labrador mix and has always been a bit of a wild card. She loves people, but unfortunately doesn’t love animals. It’s due to this that I have to get up early on the weekends for us to get out to the trail for some exercise as the dog traffic gets heavy as the day gets going. So, my wife and I had some trepidation as we were introducing our baby boy to her, not knowing how she would interpret this new, fragile little addition to the family. Well, she’s been a great big sister so far! She helps us wake him when it’s time to get up for a feeding (doggy lick alarm!), she lays on the floor next to him when it’s tummy time (guard pup!), and she makes sure she comes and gets us if he’s laying down and starts to cry (“Mom and Dad, he’s getting up!”). Little Luna deserves this wonderful food because she’s a wonderful dog, and has been better than we had hoped as a big sister. This would be a treat to her and a reward for her contributions to our little family. I should also note that we’ve been in-between dog foods lately as our schedule won’t allow us to get to our usual store for her food and we’d love to try a new one to see whether it should be her new daily food.

Riley my australian shepherd is my four legged running buddy, he can use the protein form a good and well formulated dog food. We like to mix dry and wet food for a treat after long runs as he normally eats dry.
Sounds like Tally is happy and that is the most important thing, how many poor dogs do not get to hike or run with those they love

I’ve actually been doing a lot of research into dry dog food. What I’m feeding my dog Boone now isn’t terrible, but it’s not in the top-rated tier, either. The issue is that he has a pretty sensitive tummy, so I try to make sure his food is full of high-quality protein and doesn’t have too many fillers. He’s only 3, so I want to make sure he’s fueled for many years to come!

We lost two dogs very suddenly last summer, within a month of each other. One was more of a full figured girl and she was on Rimadyl also. But the day before she died she was running happily behind the fat bike. So I think of that and not her last hours.
So now there’s a puppy. I have never had a puppy before and I often ask myself what was I thinking! My life has completely changed. I can’t just do what I want when I want. There’s always *the dog*. I like to think it is a process in making me less selfish, somewhat like marriage…ha ha.
She is quite the athlete and even though people say I shouldn’t run her so young, I need to or she is just miserable. Funny thing though, she doesn’t eat much. She won’t eat until afternoon and even then seems uninterested in food much…except treats.
Don’t listen to haters. I am finding people like to give you lots of unsolicited advice about your dog, and dire warnings….ohhh she’s a husky, she’s going to be sooooo hard to train. Can’t be around cats. For example.

We just recently went to the vet and they told me that the food I have been feeding my dog isn’t good for her and it’s full of dyes. I’ve been looking for something else to feed her with no luck! Rachel Ray is the only food I think is the healthiest for her!